SecrIS Files: Project AIM
by Link Melee 1993
Summary: This story is about two spies on a mission in Washington, D.C. in the year 2134, with a madman threatening to shut down the Artificial Intelligence that helps out the new world. It is fully original and not really a crossover of anything...
1. Chapter 1

**SecrIS Files: Project Aim** May 2007 **2130 Hours, EST – July 09, 2134 – SecrIS Headquarters, Unknown location in Washington D.C.**

"It wasn't my day."

A young man with black hair hanging low over his eyes in a workout shirt opens a door while he wipes his sweaty face with a towel.

"Everyone has bad days, Arin." A larger, older man is walking next to him.

"Yeah, well not me, Reybanski," Arin says.

Arin puts on a pair of goggles and takes aim at a target far away from the table he's leaning on. He fires off three rounds, and they all hit the same spot- the bull's-eye. "See Jet, you're fine."

"No, I'm not. And neither are you. What's bothering you, Reybanski?" They walk out of the range.

Reybanski sighs as he sits down at his desk in his office. "Sit down, Jet." He pushes a button, and the wall separates to become a plasma screen. It flicks on. There's a video of a heavily armored truck ramming into a wall, and exploding. Armed men pour out. The screen changes to become a man in camo clothing, looking quite tough, barking orders.

"These are security camera videos taken from the mainframe of the Artificial Intelligence Manufacturing Building in Zain, a city just southwest of here. Seems we have a terrorist problem."

Arin studies the screen carefully. The men walk around groups of terrified people in business clothes, most likely employees of the manufactory. "Oh great, just what we need. Hostages."

"Not only that," Reybanski responds, " this group is a well-known terrorist organization in Southern India, The Red Ghost.

"Wait a moment," Jet says. "If these guys are Red Ghost, then that ugly mug-" The man giving orders is shown again. "-Is Dos Suhad. Isn't he the one with the drug circle in India and other close parts in Asia?"

"That's right, Jet. Even worse, he kept his full force for this operation. He's also threatening to shut down all of the AI in North America if his demands aren't met."

"And they are-?"

"5000 million dollars, and the secret services to give safe passage back to India."

"Yeah, right. And I thought Rick Biadol was stupid…" Jet sarcastically answers. "So, let me get this straight: You want me to go in there, kick Suhad around a bit, and stop his army? What time?"

"Tomorrow."

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**2201 hours, EST – July 09, 2134 ****–**** SecrIS Headquarters, Unknown location in Washington D.C.**

Arin walks into his small office and sits at his desk. He cleans out his laser blaster as he hums an old rock tune.

Then, glass shatters outside his office in the secretary's room. He jumps up. Blaster at the ready, he throws open the door. The secretary is slumped over at her desk, a shattered vase lying among the torn flowers. He is stunned.

Arin shakes his head, and heads into the hallway. Movement comes from across the hall. He points his blaster and- another agent comes out. He drops the firearm. Arin nods to him, and they walk silently to Reybanski's office.

As the other agent walks in, a stray laser bolt strikes him. He crumples to the ground. Jet, using his intelligence training, uses a small mirror to see into the next room.

Dos Suhad himself is pointing a blaster at Reybanski's head. Arin does a SWAT turn into the room, and points his handblaster at Suhad. He takes Reybanski into a human shield position. "Just do it, Jet!" Reybanski yells.

"No, Xaix. I won't." Arin drops his arm.

The scene stops, and a slight hissing fills the room. Arin wakes up in a blank room, a blonde haired woman with glasses pushed up onto her nose unplugs him from the virtual training COM.

"That was quite hard, now wasn't it Jet?" She unstraps him. "Next time, just shoot him! You can't afford to let a man like that live!"

"Yeah, well, it isn't easy to disarm someone who's holding a blaster to my boss's head, Rose!" Arin yells expectantly as he stands up. She walks over to a table with many silvery gadgets on it.

"Come here, Arin," she says. "Reybanski wanted me to give these to you for your mission tomorrow."

"Oh goodie, more gadgets," Arin says sarcastically.

"Oh, will you just listen for once," she states, picking up a small COM earpiece set. "This is your new COM set, Arin. You need to wear this at all times. Now, we can keep it camouflaged in case you are discovered by any chance. The microscopic messenger has been inserted in your last mission, so now I'll just put in the receiver…" She tacks something onto his ear. "There. That should stay on there until you take a shower next."

"Great, another water-breakable earset. Now that means I have to wait until the day after tomorrow to take a shower…" Arin whines.

"Oh, do grow up… Then again, I do know how boys love their toys… Here." She tosses a heavy, large blaster into his unsuspecting hands. "This is your new Plasma Rifle: the AK – 11X. It has full sniper abilities, night and thermal vision targeting, and can fire bullets, plasma, and some new equipment."

"You're going to have me shooting explosive grenades out of a blaster?! What are you, nuts?!" Arin screams.

Doctor Rose laughs. "No, it won't explode until detonated by your trigger. You can also shoot high-propulsion non-lethal projectiles, smoke grenades, and even mines. Just don't shoot it in a closet like you did last time."

"Hey, I was gagged and bound in ropes. The explosion did open the door, though…"

The doctor sighs. "Yes, but you also destroyed everything on you. Including your earset. Now, for something I'm particularly proud of…" She holds up a small, black box. "Jet, this is your new lock pick."

"When did you figure that out?" he asks.

"Oh, do shut up, Arin. Anyway, this is guaranteed to open any lock on any door."

Arin smiles. "What about laser-lock doors?"

"Ah, the laser doors. I also remembered those this time." She pushes a small, white button, and a beam comes out of the front. "One ordinary and laser-lock door pick, at your service," she boasts.

"Are you done yet?" Arin half-heartedly asks, as he begins to walk out.

"Yes. But keep in contact the entire mission, Arin. We need to keep you on that COM at all times. Remember, AI practically rules the world these days."

Arin sticks his head in from the outside hall. "That coming from the Queen of Tech herself!"

"Oh, SHUT UP!" She throws a pen at him as he runs away, laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

**0600 hours, EST – July 10, 2134 – Arin's Home in D.C.**

Knock knock!

Jet wakes up from under his bio-sheets early in the morning. He groans. "Coming… I'm coming- Whoa!" He falls out of his bed with a loud bang. The door is knocked on again. "I'm coming!" He gets up, and ties on a bathrobe.

In the entrance hall, he goes to open the door. "Who is it- AH!!!" A hand appears, and punches him in his chest. He flies back. A shoe reaches in and sends him down the hall. He slams into a wall, and a picture falls onto his head. A dark shape looms above him. A blaster, glowing like a pair of cat's eyes in the dark corridor, is pointed at him.

"What kind of man wears his girlfriend's bathrobe?" A cold female voice rings out of nowhere. It's true; He's wearing a pink, fluffy robe.

"A man who was woken up at about six in the morning. Hello, Sarah."

A hand pulls him up, and the auto light comes on. A small robot comes over and puts the picture back in its place. The two agents walk over to the living room. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Arin?" She takes off her hood, revealing a lot of blonde hair.

"Yes, three years. I'll never forget that battle with the Spanish rebels… Anyhow, how're you doing?"

"Fine, fine… You?"

"Peachy. Did Reybanski send you?" Jet skeptically asks.

Sarah rolls her eyes. "What do you think?"

" I think you should be quiet now, Evans." The TV blinks on, and a picture of Reybanski takes the blank screen's place.

Jet faces the TV. "Reybanski, I thought I said I didn't want any more taps in my house."

"You need to be briefed immediately, Jet. There's no need for you to come to the office today." He pushes a small button on his desk. A holographic image of a building is broadcasted from the TV screen. "This is the Artificial Intelligence Manufacture building, or AIM for short. It has a long, sloping roof, six floors, a walled parking lot, and a manufacturing plant in the basement. Each floor has many guards, and, put together, Suhad has an army of about 200 men there with him."

Jet smiles. "Really? I though it might be difficult."

"Oh, it will be. Even for you two," Reybanski states.

"They have four snipers on the roof, two with night-vision spectral units, two thermal turrets in the middle, and their landing craft, which obviously has men in it."

"Piece of cake," Jet boasts.

"This won't be like other missions, Jet. One alarm, and this mission's over. We can't afford putting any of my robots that protect the president and other things failing at a time like this. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good. Your ride will be there at 1800 sharp." He disappears from the screen, the hologram with him.

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**1800 hours, EST – July 10, 2134 – Helipad in a forest near D.C.**

Sounds that could rival that of thunder pour over a meadow as two black clothed figures run out of the forest into an open field. A door out of midair opens, revealing an invisible helicopter. The two figures roll into the bay, and the door shuts. The helicopter takes off.

Inside the helicopter, the figures take off their helmets. They are Arin and Sarah. "Looks like we've got clear weather ahead, so I'm gonna have to let you guys off extra high," the pilot yells back.

"Don't worry: I think I can handle it," Sarah screams back. "Although I'm not sure about Arin here…"

"Shut up," he snaps, putting on his COM. "I'll be fine, Ed. Don't worry."

"Okay, Mr. Indestructible." The chopper flies high into the sky, above glowing lights in the city.

1821 Hours, EST – July 10, 2134 – Above the roof of the AIM Building 

On the slanted rooftop, four guards in cloaked clothing stand at each corner. A giant flying craft sits in the center, camouflaged by the darkened lights, and two turrets sit in front of a small shed-like building, leading into the main building itself.

The door, about a thousand feet up, opens, and the two agents jump out. Their parachutes rip open, and Arin floats quickly down to the rooftop. He sends two Ring-Air rounds towards the first two snipers, which knock them out quickly. "Alright, Sarah. All yours."

Two glowing plasma bolts ricochet across the roof, crumpling the other two guards. Sarah lands quietly, and rolls away from the edge. "That was easy."

"Too much so. Hold on, I'm going for the turrets." Arin scratches on a large heat flare, which sends off scathing heat signatures. As soon as it hits the floor, the turrets fire off multiple rounds.

"Okay, let's go." Arin says. As they begin to move towards the door, it slams open, revealing a large man with an auto-blaster. "Quiet! Just one moment…"

"What is going on out here?" The man gets on his knees and fiddle around in a box. He whispers something into a communicator. "The boss will kill me for this, but…" The turrets stop rotating.

By now, Sarah has made her way around the back of the shed. She has climbed on top of it, and shut down the light. The guard turns around. "What was that?"

"Just me." Arin gives his answer and puts the man in an excellent sleeper hold, and the man goes limp in his arms. Arin rolls him onto the ground silently. "All right, Sarah," she jumps down. "Let's go-"

Suddenly, a bolt of plasma screeches across the hoverway, and lands at Arin's feet. He puts up a hover shield that blocks the other few shots. "Reybanski! We have a sniper on the roof! I repeat, we have a sniper shooting at us!"

The answer comes with static over the COM. "Jet, you… get in the… You have…alarm anyone…Get rid…now!"

Arin looks at Sarah, who nods. "I guess that means we do it our way!" Arin peeks around the hover shield, and throws on his thermal vision goggles. "I don't see anything… There! Movement in the church across the hoverway!"

As if a signal, a jetpack roars on from the other side, and the sniper, in fiery streaks, flies across the hoverway.

Arin pulls out his blaster. "Eat this, you piece of-"

A shot comes from beside him, and the jetpack explodes as the man crashes to the ground. Sarah is holding her blaster aloft, and pulls out what looks like a small mirror. She turns off the hover shield, and walks over to the still man. A picture of a Hispanic man shows up on the glass.

"This man is Riko Kananga. He's from the Central American region, hired as a professional sniper for twenty villains… Currently working for… Dos Suhad. Surprise surprise."

She and Arin drag him into the small building, and put him into a dark corner. "You ready?" Arin asks.

Sarah smiles as she takes off her stealth hood. "Ready as I'll ever be." They run down the stairwell into the main complex.


	3. Chapter 3

**1838 Hours, EST – July 10, 2134 – AIM Building, 6****th**** floor**

"Wonder if that assassin will wake up sometime soon…" Sarah mutters.

"Nah, He'll be out for a couple hours. We'll be long gone by then," Arin says. "Now about that Suhad…"

The COM channel comes on. "Don't move Jet… Seems Suhad's sending out a broadcast over the Holo-Net." Reybanski seethes, "I'm patching it to your goggles…"

Arin holds his goggles out so both of them can see it. A clear video comes on. Sarah shudders. "Yeah, he can do that to people." Suhad pulls a microphone closer to him.

"Citizens of America, I send my greetings to you. I am Dos Suhad of the Red Ghost Terrorist Movement. No, no, I am not here to blow up any buildings… yet. As I speak, one of my commanding officers is heading to an electronic device that will shut off all of the Artificial Intelligence Machinery in Washington, D.C., your capitol. If my demands aren't met in the next five hours, I will shut off all of the AI machinery in America!"

Shouting comes from the COM channel. "YOU TWO GET DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW AND STOP HIM! IF THAT MADMAN GETS THE AI OFF, THE PRESIDENT IS AS GOOD AS DEAD!"

Obviously, Sarah didn't like the shouting, because she had thrown her COM set against the wall. Arin turns the volume down. "Let's go!"

As they run down the hall, Arin continues listening to the video patch. "I am going to rule this country by tomorrow if you stupid Americans don't listen to me! Hit the switch, Commander!"

Suddenly, the COM channel goes quiet. Sarah throws it back on. "It stopped working."

"No, the background just is off. We DO have emergency power, you know." Rose's snide answer comes over the channel.

"Okay, okay, Queenie." Sarah chuckles. "I get it. You are all-powerful when it comes to Tech," Arin comments.

"Shut up, Jet," Reybanski says. "You need to get down to the broadcasting room immediately. It's on the first floor, directly beneath you."

Arin looks at Sarah. "Boom?"

She nods. "Boom."

"OH NO YOU DON'T! I TOLD YOU THAT YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO BE CAUGHT BY ANYBODY! YOU WILL NOT-"

Arin shuts off the COM. "Bla bla bla. All he ever does is yap."

Sarah laughs," Come on, Arin. Let's just go."

A cold voice comes from behind them. "I don't think that's going to happen right now." Arin turns around and is knocked into unconsciousness. As his vision dims, he says a blurry figure bends over him.

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**2018 hours, EST – July 10****th****, 2134 – AIM Building, Fifth Floor**

"Ugh… ow!" Arin groans as he tries to stand up, and a sharp pain comes from his head. He drops back down.

"Arin?" Sarah comes into the room and turns on the light. She helps him up. "Wow. You look bad."

"Well, for being knocked out by one heck of a punch and asleep for two hours, you'd probably look pretty bad, too."

"Well, Leon couldn't take any chances of us being discovered. He-"

Arin glares at her. "Leon? Who's Leon?"

"I am." A large man with a military buzz cut stands at the door, and he's at least six and a half feet tall.

"YAAAHH!!! " Arin charges at him. He throws a hard punch, and Leon grabs his hand, and twists it. "AH!" Arin falls to the floor.

Leon picks him back up. "Sorry." Arin stares at him.

"Who are you?"

"I am Leon Jacobs, the personal bodyguard of Mr. Hartman, the owner of the AIM Corporation. Sorry about the drive earlier. I had to get you to stop from letting Suhad know you were here."

"Well you didn't have to- Wait a second! How did you know about Suhad?"

Leon pulls a badge out of his pocket, and Arin flinches. "Don't worry. It's not a blaster. I'm from SecrIS. Reybanski sent me here, not only to watch over the company, but to stay here tonight to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Arin's mouth hangs open. "WHAT?! HE SENT YOU HERE TO CHECK UP ON ME?!"

"Well…" Leon rubs his neck. "I guess so. If you needed back up. When you took off down the hall, he told me to knock some sense into you."

"The hard way," Sarah says.

"You little-" Arin yanks his COM off of the desk beside him, and shoves it into his ear. "YOU SENT A GUY TO HELP ME? SINCE WHEN DO I NEED HELP?!"

Reybanski coughs. "Well, the last mission you were on you needed help, and you ended up costing us a few million dollars to send a missile to intercept that one heading towards the space station!"

Arin screams, "HEY! That kid had a good shot at my neck with that tranquilizer!"

"I don't care, Jet. This mission needs to stay in success, or thousands of thousands of lives may be lost!"

"Yeah, well… I'm not listening to anymore! I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS MY WAY AND MY WAY ONLY!"

Arin takes off his COM set and smashes it with his hand. He grabs Sarah and heads for the door.

Leon yells after him, "HEY! SUHAD'S IN THE LOBBY! SARAH HAS A TRACKER! ASK HER FOR THE-"

The door slams before he can finish.


	4. Chapter 4

**2032 hours, EST – July 10, 2134 – AIM Building, Fifth Floor**

"Arin, Reybanski wants to-" 

"I don't give a darn to what he wants. First he won't let me give any detections, and now he sends some… security guard… to help me. I am finished with him and his rules! I am going alone unless you have any objections." He breaks his hold on Sarah.

"But Arin-"

The door that Arin went through shuts, and electrical noises of it being sealed by an electro-tool come from the other side. Sarah sighs as she turns back on her COM. "He's gone."

"Good riddance. He can get killed for all I care. I think he's-"

Sarah shuts it off before he can finish.

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**2034 hours, EST – July 10, 2134 – AIM Building, Stairwell between fifth and fourth**

**floors**

"What an idiot. He can't control me… I don't need help." Arin grabs both railings, and slides down using his hands. "Hah. I'll prove him wrong. I'll get Suhad and turn back on the AI."

When he reaches the second floor, he stops. There's a large pile of desks and metal pieces that are welded together in his way. "Oh, great. Just what I need. A blockade."

As he reaches for the pile, a loud beeping rapidly starts. "Not good!" He looks around the pile, and sees a large mine fall off of the top. "Oh–!"

The small circular object shoots out a giant holo-net that covers Arin. It also has another surprise- Sleeping gas. Arin begins to slip into unconsciousness.

As he loses his vision, he sees two blurry figures reaching over him…

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**2039 hours, EST – July 10, 2134 – AIM Building, Second floor**

"I can't believe Arin would take off like that," Sarah whispers into her COM.

"Well, I can. He has freeloaded more than one mission lately. Remember in the mission in Prague he-"

"Yeah, I remember," she sighs. "To find that one bomb maker hostage and ran through the embassy with a blaster, waving it around so they'd point out the terrorist, I know."

Reybanski says, "Just find him soon, ok? I don't need any fatalities tonight."

"Sure, sure- stop. There's a guard right here. Where'd he come form? Hold on…" She shuts off the COM and creeps into a shadowy corner. The guard walks around the corner. A slight rolling noise comes from the hallway.

"What the-" The guard looks down at the little marbles rolling across the floor. Suddenly, they explode silently into a bright flash of light. The guard clutches his eyes, screaming. Sarah comes out of her corner, and knocks him upside the head with her rifle. He falls to the floor. Sarah drags him to the corner.

She turns the COM again. "Sorry. He's been taken care of."

"Good. Now you need to find a way to the lobby. It seems Arin has gotten himself captures. He's in the lobby with Suhad. Humph. I hope he's in a coma for the next ten years. He's not coming back."

Sarah shuts it off as she hooks a Hover-rappel to the stairwell floor next to the blockade. "God, he's a jerk."


	5. Chapter 5

**2107 hours, EST – July 10,2134 – AIM Building, Lobby on first floor**

"Ungh…" Arin groans as he stirs around. He's on the floor, surrounded by four people. Suhad stands above him, and with him are two guards and the assassin, Riko Kananga.

The assassin cracks his knuckles loudly. "Shall I take care of him?"

"No." Suhad kneels down and looks straight at Arin. "Hello, Mr. Secret Agent Man!" He pulls up Arin by his arms, then punches him in his nose. Hard.

Arin is on the ground, rolling around, a pool of crimson blood around his face. The two guards pick him up onto his knees. Suhad kneels down and holds Arin's face towards his. "I want you to tell me if there is anyone else in the building that is not one of my men."

Arin looks at him blankly. "I won't tell you anything."

Suhad slides back a little bit. "I will ask you one more time nicely. Is there anyone else in this building other than my men?!"

"I will tell you nothing." Arin smiles weakly.

Suhad yells, "TELL ME IF THERE IS ANYONE ELSE IN THIS BUILDING YOU FILTHY SPY!"

Arin spits in Suhad face. Suhad screams and steps back. He scrambles to his feet and pulls out a hand-blaster. Suhad pulls the trigger.

Arin, timing his move, jumps to the side quickly. Unfortunately, the plasma bolt ricochets off of the floor and burns a hole through Arin's arm. He screams loudly, as he falls to the ground, writhing in pain.

"You are going to die today, American." Suhad points the blaster at his forehead. He laughs.

Suddenly, without warning, a small ball flies across the room and attaches itself to Suhad's chest. He convulses violently, and falls to the ground.

The two guards turn to the doorway and fire multiple rounds of plasma. In return, a grenade flies into the room, and explodes into a cloud of gas. In the moments before that, Arin managed to reach into his pack and grab a gas mask and put on his goggles.'He sees the two guards lying on the ground, knocked out. He also sees a shape coming towards him. He yells, but the shape tackles him to the ground. A plasma bolt streaks across his head.

The gas clears up, and Sarah gets off of Arin. "Your welcome." She turns around and fires at a retreating shape. The assassin rounds the corner. Sarah helps Arin off of the floor. "Hey, what happened to your arm?"

He waves his hand. "Nothing. Just some disagreement with the barrel of a blaster."

Sarah laughs as she begins to tape it up.

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**2149 hours, EST – July 10, 2134 – AIM Building, Lobby on the First floor**

Sarah stands with another agent, talking to him. Arin comes into the lobby, his arm in a hover-sling. "Hey, it's Mister Rogue Agent. How're you doing, Arin?"

Arin smiles. "Fine, David. Hey, what do have from sweating Suhad?"

"Well, I can answer that." Reybanski's head appears in front of them.

"AH! It's the evil Wizard of Oz!" Sarah laughs.

"Shut up, Evans. It seems that Suhad had a mech-bomb that was to be set off if he had not received his demands. He said that we can't stop because he has his best team of henchmen in the manufactory in the basement."

Arin shrugs. "Your point being-?"

"He said it was set to go off in twenty minutes."

Arin pulls out his blaster and cocks it. All of the agents around him look at him. Sarah pulls out hers. "We'll do it."


	6. Chapter 6

**2152 hours, EST, 20 Minutes Until Detonation July 10, 2134 – AIM building, Lobby Elevator**

"Alright you two. You be careful. And Jet?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to blow up anything."

Sarah laughs. "I won't, Reybanski." The elevator dings and it shuts.

The two agents stand there like statues. "So… You've been working with the agency how long?" Arin asks.

"Ten years next month."

"Cool… You still get dental?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

A slight silence. "So, are you married yet?"

"Uh… No."

"Heh. I'm single and free," Arin boasts.

"Cocky little thing, aren't you?"

"Well… Sure, yeah. I AM INVINCIBLE!!!"

Another pause. "Like to quote James Bond movies, huh?"

Arin slouches a little. "Yeah. But really, I am INVINCIBLE!!!"

Suddenly, the elevator stops and the lights go out. A little blue orb appears and gives the small room some light.

The COM channel buzzes back on. "The elevator's stopped."

"Thanks, Mr. Point-Out-The-Obvious," Sarah says, pointing her blaster at the floor. The blaster emits a small lazer beam cuts a hole in the metal. She kicks it out and it falls into the slim shaft. It falls for quite sometime, and then makes a small tinging noise at the bottom. "Reybanski? How long does this thing go down?"

"According to my building plans, the shaft goes down a few thousand yards… Seems the owner wanted it to extend far enough to use geothermic vents for unlimited power… Smart guy."

"Yeah, well get Rose. We need to know how far these hover-rappels can go.

There's a slight pause as Rose comes to the communication room. "Hello? Arin? You there?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"The hover-rappels extend for one thousand and five hundred yards. From the position you're at, though, you need to go down two thousand yards. Sorry, can't really help you figure that out."

Arin looks at Sarah. She nods. "I think I have an idea…"

Arin and Sarah both attach a small orb to the floor of the elevator. They both jump out as a thin cord of plasma reels out so they are sent down into the dimly lighted shaft. They slide down silently. Arin aims his blaster with his right hand and blasts the four gravity receptors on the edges of the elevator's bottom. The elevator begins to fall down. The agents fall with it.

"You're now a hundred yards from the elevator, and three hundred yards from the floor. Get ready!" Rose notes.

Arin grabs his clip and pushes on a button. Sarah does the same. The outline of the end of the shaft appears quickly. "Now when we are close to the floor, press the button and roll away. I'll set off a holo-shield and put the hover receptors back on the elevator. Ready… Now!"

Both of the agents jump down and Arin creates a shield. The elevator stops in midair and Arin tosses four receptors back onto the bottom. He shuts off the shield and pulls out his blaster. They run into the next corridor.

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2200 Hours, EST, 12 minute until detonation 

**July 10, 2134 – AIM Building Manufactory**

"Come on, Sarah! Let's go! We only have 12 minutes left until the bomb goes off!" They dash down the dark hallway.

"Jet…losing the signal… must be some sort…blocking signal…disarm bomb…Fate of the world…Hurry!" The signal goes dead.

"Great. No COM. Hope we know how to disarm this thing by ourselves," Sarah says.

"We'll be fine. Relax."

Arin creeps around the corner into a dark room with a small band of light over their heads. Noises come from above them. On the catwalks above them are three men, one with a large case. On the floor is another man with a large blaster holstered on his back. Arin throws on his goggles. "Okay. There's one guy up there with night vision goggles on. Two have blasters, and the other just has tools for the bomb. And we only have five minutes left."

"Hm. Let's just kill the technician and get it over with."

"Somehow I doubt it will be that easy… Someone has to have an automatic set-off switch… We'll have to be more safe then sorry."

"Darn it. I wanted to have some fun," Sarah moans.

"Okay… I got it. I'll sneak up behind the guy down here…"


	7. Chapter 7

**2208 Hours, EST, 4 Minutes until detonation **

**July 10, 2134 – AIM Manufactory: Main Room**

The man at the bottom walks in a patrol circle, looking around in the darkness. He hears scratching noises and goes to check it out. "I'll be right back. I think I heard something." He walks into the darkness. The man with the night vision goggles shrugs and looks away.

In the dark corridor, the man looks around blindly. Suddenly, an arm reaches out and grabs his neck. He goes limp in its hold.

The guard on top asks in his COM, "Hey, Sayeed, are you okay down there?"

"Yes, I am fine. Go back to your patrol." The shape returns to the patrol. The night vision guard goes back to his.

The shape, of course, is Arin, who used a recording device to use his voice. Arin has Sarah hugging close to his back so she cannot be detected. "Go, go!" She uses a special cloaking machine to make it look like a normal patch of darkness to the night vision goggled guard. She runs up the ladder to the catwalks quickly.

She crouches and silently runs along the far wall. She comes up to a guard. She uses a short tag-device, and he is knocked out immediately. She sits him down quietly. She sends a small whisper through the COM. "Shoot."

Arin takes aim at the night vision guard quickly and sends a small sticky shocker at him. He crumples to the grates silently. The final man, quietly working, doesn't notice anything. Arin begins to climb the ladder. "Sarah," he whispers. "Two minutes."

They join together and run normally towards the crouched man. Arin pulls him up. "Hello." He pushes the man over the edge of the catwalks. The man screams, and then is silent when he hits the floor far below

"Alright, Sarah. Open the mechanism carefully." She lifts up a skinny panel as softly as possible. Arin turns on his headlight and looks at the mass of wires in the machine. "Wow. This reminds me of that bio-bomb in Cuba. Only ten times more complicated."

"Well, if you remember your training-"

"Hey, that was twelve years ago, and I was eighteen. I was pretty stupid and inattentive."

Sarah giggles. "Well, nothing's changed. Anyways, the manual said that if there is an even number of colors, never cut the red wire. If odd, then cut the red wire."

Arin counts them silently. "Well, that doesn't help much, cause there's a whole eight colors of wires: Red, blue, orange, green, white, black, purple, and yellow. I also remember vaguely that if there are more than six, never cut the two colors that come latest in the alphabet… Where do they come up with these clues?"

"No idea, but that would be yellow and white. So a no go for red, white, and yellow. I think that if there is a color in between two green, then don't cut that color. But I don't see any…" She looks carefully.

"Look here. I think that, because of those rules, we're down to orange, blue, and black. Here, there are three green in a row. That's a green between two green. Same thing with the purple."

"Now, if you see here, there's a green, then a white, then a blue, and then a black. Reybanski told me once that if there are two ones that don't work, then there are two that do work. So we have to choose between blue and black," she says.

Arin thinks for a moment. "Okay, I can't think of anything else."

A counter on the top reaches 60, and beeps for each second that passes. "Well think faster, Arin. We only have a minute left!"

"OKAY! I'M THINKING!" He touches a bunch of wires, trying to remember the rules. A loud beeping begins as the counter reaches ten.

"ARIN! GO!" Nine… Eight… Seven…

"If the wire is next to… no…" Six… Five… Four… Three…

"ARIN! CUT THE BLUE WIRE!!!" Two… One…

"YES!" Arin reaches in with his knife and cuts a wire. Sarah looks away, eyes closed…

The bomb hums quietly, and dims out. Sarah turns around. "You cut the… black wire? And it worked?"

Arin wipes some sweat off of his forehead as he pockets his knife. He stands up and helps Sarah stand. "We did it Arin. We should really go though-"

Arin grabs Sarah and hugs her close. He kisses her passionately, and she begins to start as well.

"Why are you still down there! You defused the bomb, didn't you? Hello? Jet? Evans? HELLO? ANYONE? HEY-"

Arin takes off the COM sets and throws them onto the catwalk floor. They continue kissing as Reybanski's voice and sounds of cheering go on…

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File On Project: AIM 

The case file on Project: AIM has been close by two agents, Evans and Jet, who disarmed a technological - targeting bomb at 2212 hours on July 10, 2134.

The man who caused the problems leading up to the events at the AIM Corp. was Dos Suhad, and with his hired mercenary, Riko Kananga, sabotaged the Artificial Intelligence Machinery in Washington, D.C., and threatened to shut it down all throughout the country. Suhad had been put on death row, only to be assassinated by the hired Riko Kananga. The assassination was expected to be an inside job, but was blamed on the mercenary, who, in fear, fled to the country of Brazil in his home continent of South America, where he disappeared without a trace. As of the agents, they have retired and married each other, in hopes of a happy life…

_**CASE: CLOSED**_

_**MISSION: COMPLETED**_


End file.
